Fairytales and Firesides
by swaggyzebraTW
Summary: Katrina comes to Ichabod one afternoon while he is unconscious, and tells him many things he did not know about Purgatory and the predicament she is in. He wishes to stay with her, however, she sends him back to earth after telling him the only way that he could bring her back. Darkness is coming to Sleepy Hollow, and what will happen when it finally arrives?


_**A/N: Hello, all. This is my first fic for "Sleepy Hollow," and I must say that I have only seen the latest half of the first season. I have not seen the first five, as they are not available online, so I do not know exactly what happened during them. For which, I apologize. Please enjoy, and review. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own "Sleepy Hollow" or any of the characters mentioned within this piece. All rights go to respective owners. **_

_A single lit candle wavered in front of Ichabod; its light casting a small grow against the white wall behind it. It was not the only candle on the stand, and it certainly wasn't the only one in the room, but it was the only one that someone had bothered to light. Ichabod knew that since he was in a church it represented someone, but he didn't know who it was. Some odd part of himself wanted to find out who it belonged to. _

"_I lit it for our son," a soft voice said from behind him. "I make sure to come here and light it for him every day."_

_Ichabod would recognize the voice from anywhere, even in this dream-like state, and he turned on his heel. "Katrina," he whispered in astonishment, "I've waited so long to see you—"_

_She took a step closer to him, and was now only a foot way from him. Raising up onto the tips of her toes, she pressed her fingers to his lips and shushed him. _

"_I know," she said, "but we don't have much time. I would love nothing more than to catch up with you, but we simply can't. If you stay here too long—"_

_Fists pounded on the door to the cathedral, and a small ball of dust tumbled from the ceiling. The vibrations from the act caused from expensive-looking glassware to rattle in their cases, but nothing fell. The candle lit for their son wavered, but held steady._

"_Katrina, who's at the door? Are they here to hurt you? I won't let them—"_

"_Hush, there's no time, as I said. Ichabod, we had a son. His name was Jeremy, and I am so sorry I couldn't tell you about him before now. I had him in that safe house, and he was delivered safely. It's a long story what happened next, but to make that story short, I had to give him up. I left him with the pastor of this church, where he would be safe. I then fled, and—"_

_The banging on the oak door continued, and a large glass statue of Jesus fell from the altar. Low, animalistic growls sounded from outside, and Katrina's facial expression became frantic. She knew she was just about out of time. If Ichabod didn't leave soon, he would be stuck here forever, in purgatory, left to—_

"_I'm not leaving you, Katrina. I don't remember why I came here, but I know I want to take you back. There's nothing for me in this world if you are not at my side, so I beg you: Come with me."_

_She grasped his shoulders and shook them a little, as though she were trying to shake some sense into him. "I cannot come with you, not unless someone takes my place. Now, I love you, Ichabod, and if you feel anything for me at all, you will know that it is best for everyone if you left immediately."_

"_But, I don't care about anything except being with you." Ichabod stated, frowning slightly at his wife. _

_Katrina shook her head tersely. "You know you don't mean that. Think about that girl you found; Abbie, was it?"_

"_She's great, really," he said, looking away for a little as he smiled at the thought of her. "But she's not you."_

"_No two people are the same, Ichabod, but I want you to know that—" Katrina trailed off and looked at the door, just in time to see a large fist break through it. _

_She shoved at her husband. "Go back to the real world, Ichabod! Leave now, and leave fast. Repeat after me—"_

"_I can't just leave you, my love. I've waited too long for this moment, and I'm not going to let it go so soon." Ichabod stated, looking defiantly into Katrina's beautiful green eyes. "I don't care what I'll have to face because of making this decision. I'm not leaving you to suffer through this alone."_

_Katrina felt like a knife was being driven through her chest. Sure, she was very touched that her husband didn't want to leave her side, but she also knew that it would only be worse if he were to stay with her in Purgatory. If Ichabod stayed, he too would be stuck in this god-forsaken place for as long as his soul survived, and Katrina knew that he could get her out eventually. She had faith in him and that girl he had met—Abbie Mills. _

_She pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek. "Will yourself to go back to Earth, Ichabod. Get back to Abbie, and find the Sin-eater. Only come back when you can bring me back with you, otherwise, you could become stuck here forever. I love you, and don't you ever forget that."_

_Another hairy hand broke through the door, and the demon let out yet another war-like cry. _

"_I'm not leaving you." Ichabod stated defiantly. "I made the mistake of doing so once, and I will never forgive myself for doing so. I certainly will not make that mistake again—"_

"_We're out of time," Katrina said honestly. "You have to go now. Close your eyes, and picture Abbie and the rest of the Earth. Call yourself back down to it, Ichabod. Imagine coming back to where you belong. Picture the scenery—"_

_Ichabod tried to fight what she was doing, he really did. He didn't want to leave her, but for the oddest of reasons, her words were making the walls of the cathedral dim in his eyes. Faintly, he could see the demon as it finally broke through the church doors and raced towards Katrina, but he could not find the will to move and stop it. The scene before him shattered like a glass pane being hit by a large rock, and he felt like he was falling; tumbling back to the Earth Katrina had sent him back to…_

"Crane!" A voice cried in his ear. "Crane, wake up!"

Ichabod mumbled a little more in his sleep, before his eyes finally snapped open. His eyes flitted around the room quickly before they landed on Abbie, who had jumped back with his sudden awakening.

The wooden floor was painful on his back, and he realized that he had really become accustomed to the softness of the modern beds. Ichabod also noticed that Abbie's small but gun-calloused hands were currently placed on his shoulders; a warm heat blossoming between them at the simple contact.

Ms. Mills removed her hands with a subtle blush when she caught him staring at them.

"You just passed out, Crane. Are you okay?" She asked him, her eyes clearly showing her genuine concern for the man at her feet.

Ichabod grabbed the hand that she offered, and with a little assistance, pulled himself to his feet and began to shake the dust off his coat. "I went unconscious? For how long?"

Abbie shrugged. "A minute or two. You were just looking off into the distance, and then, all of a sudden, you fell to the floor and began spasming."

"I spasmed? On the floor?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Scared me half to death, too. What happened right there, Crane?"

He thought about it a moment, and the memories of visiting Katrina came back to him in a powerful wave. The visit had made no sense to him when it happened, and now that he knew that he had been unconscious during it, it made even less sense to him. Had he been dreaming, or did Katrina really find a way to communicate with him?

Another question lingered in his mind: Who was the Sin-eater?

A dark-skinned hand wove in front of his eyes. "Crane? You there?" Abbie asked him, sounding worried and as though she was almost expecting him to have left her again.

Ichabod shook his head slowly. "Sorry, I just got lost in space for a little there. Anyway, you wouldn't be able to guess what I saw while I was passed out."

Abbie smiled lightly and made a sarcastic remark. "Let me guess, you saw George Washington, and he told you the location of his hidden gravesite?"

Crane's eyes widened, and his eyebrows raised in question. "Why would I have seen that?"

"I was kidding."

His eyes rolled. "What is with you modern people and your persistent joking?"

She shrugged. "I guess it's just a habit of ours. Now, what were you saying?"

"I saw Katrina," he stated, getting straight to the point. "She met me in a church that was in Purgatory."

Abbie squinted a little, looking at Ichabod with an expression of disbelief. "You mean, Katrina as in your wife, Katrina?"

"Yes, I believe that's what I said."

"I thought she was stuck in some realm."

He nodded, his fingers balling into fists. "As did I. Purgatory, in fact. But, I did see her just now."

Abbie's hands found his shoulders once more and she guided him towards a nearby sofa. "Maybe you hit your head a little harder than I first thought," she said.

Ichabod shoved her away, none too gently. "I can assure you I am fine. Now, we must find the Sin-Eater Katrina spoke of—"

"Wait a minute, slow down." Abbie urged. "What's the Sin-Eater?"

Ichabod's hands began to make crazy gestures as he paced the length of the room. "I'm not sure, but Katrina said we should find him."

"Crane, maybe you just dreamt that up? How would you have seen—"

"I know what I saw." He said sharply. "And, you didn't think a man could come back from the dead before you met me. You never thought the headless horseman was anything but lore before I told you of his existence. You never knew of—"

She cut him off after a while, holding up her hand. "Okay, I get it. But that doesn't make it true. After all, you just _passed out_ on the _floor_, and hit your head pretty hard on the hardwood. It is possible that you're just imagining seeing your wife."

"People do not dream of things that they have never seen nor heard of, and the Sin-Eater is one of those things that I have never heard of before this interaction. I did not dream it up, I assure you."

"Fine," Abbie said, sounding resigned. "I'll contact Irving, and we can look into this 'Sin-Eater' guy, but I'm making no promises about us finding him."

Ichabod smiled at that, and grasped her face in his palms before pressing a sloppy kiss upon her forehead. "Thank you, Lieutenant." He said gratefully, releasing her so that he could enter his room—presumably to gather supplies for their now-planned outing.

After Ichabod had left her sight, she rubbed a hand over her forehead and exhaled. Somehow, Abbie could still feel the warm impression of his lips upon her skin, and she almost wanted to miss it. But, after thinking of that, she quickly shook the idea off, cursing that she was most likely "just horny" and needed to get laid. After all, it wouldn't be right for her to have feelings for a married man.

_He's not really married anymore, _a voice said form inside of her. _You might still have a chance with him—_

It was then that she told herself to shut up, and she stalked off into her bedroom to grab some extra ammo for her police-assigned pistol. She new she very-well might be needing it tonight, because if she had learned anything since Crane's arrival, it was that darkness was coming to Sleepy Hollow, along with all the evil associated with it. And, when it came to all of the old, spooky tales: All the stories were true, and the very existence of crane and the headless horseman proved that.

_**A/N: I hope people liked that, and I may continue with enough support. Before you criticize too harshly, know that I am only 14, and am quite new to writing. Please take the time to review, and have a great rest of your day. :)**_


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